Fulham boss Marco Silva has been speaking to the media before Saturday’s Premier League game against Aston Villa (kick-off 15:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
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Silva confirmed that Sasa Lukic will be out after picking up a shoulder injury while playing for Serbia and Timothy Castagne is also unavailable after returning from international duty “with a problem in his hamstring”.
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Nigeria internationals Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey are available after “tough” incident which saw them left stranded at an airport overnight: “When the players go to the national team to play they are proud of that moment. The most important thing is they can enjoy football and play for their countries, something that those players did not get to enjoy.”
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On news that former Fulham Ladies captain Ronnie Gibbons alleges she was “groped” by the club’s late owner Mohamed Al Fayed: “Sad for all of us to hear that. We as a football club have empathy with the situation and we are against all of these things. We are clear it is now down to the football club to investigate more.”
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On facing Aston Villa: “We want to remind ourselves from the match we played where we were so good [3-0 win]. They are a tough side. We have got to understand how good they have been this season and how hard to they are to beat.”
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He added: “They will be fully motivated to get a good result but they will know what they are going to face as well. The way we played against the Premier League champions – they are aware of that.”
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On Raul Jimenez form: “The reality is, me and my staff we were the only ones who believed and trusted he could be back to that level. After the worst moment of his career, and maybe his life, it was tough to come back and feel trust from people and to score the goals again. But it was in a Fulham shirt, against Villa at home [that he scored] and from that moment we saw completely different Raul again.”
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On players describing Silva in one word: “They are the best people to talk about it. I agree with all those [words] because that is only way I can be in my job. I can’t hide this. If you love something, you have to be passionate. To be demanding, detailed, they play a big part on the pitch.”
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